Wake County, N.C., is finding success with a pilot collection program for computer recycling for businesses and residents. The program, which began Sept. 4, grew out of the growing numbers of calls the county was getting about computer recycling, said Lowell Shaw, Wake County recycling coordinator. “We would get a lot of calls, and we didn’t have a good outlet for them. We had Web sites through the county and state that listed companies, and there were programs around for reuse, but it was getting to be more and more of a problem.”
When the county held a Christmas Wrap-up Program and also accepted computers at the event, response was overwhelming, Shaw said. “We saw it was something we needed to do permanently,” he said.
The county then found a vendor, Electronic Service Development Co., Greensboro, N.C., to pick up units from the county’s North Wake Multi-material Drop-Off Facility, Raleigh, N.C. Appliances, scrap tires, used motor oil, corrugated cardboard, chipboard, scrap metal, and lead acid batteries are all accepted at the facility. The vendor recycles or reuses all material collected by the county. Lowell said he is happy with service from the company.
Businesses can deposit used computer equipment for a charge of $5 per load, whether it one monitor or 10, as long as it is coming in together. Residents may drop off used computers for free.
Response to the program has been good so far, even without the amount of advertising and publicity Lowell said is still needed. “Since it just started there has been a little going out as far as education, but we haven’t really pushed it real, real hard partially on purpose to make sure we know what we are doing”
The Solid Waste Advisory Committee might decide to also accept materials from municipalities, Lowell said. One local town currently has a computer collection program in place and the county may start working in conjunction with that area as well.